HARD TO SAY GOODBYE 

~By K-chan~
k-chan@rocketmail.com

*Ranma 1/2 characters are copywrited to the ingenius of Rumiko
Takahashi and co.. I own nothing on these characters or their
"unusual" situations.*
~Be warned, this will be a sadfic but as for a bitter ending...?
You'll just have to find out... ^_~ 
~I'm taking this from the manga, so no Sasuke in this one.~
~E-mail for previous chapters as I'm useless at putting up web
pages!~

Chapter 6: In Deep With Fire And Ice

       The situation was out of control and she knew that she couldn't
let it go on any more, _something_ had to be done. Nabiki looked into the
mirror and stared seriously at her reflection, contemplating.
       "These split ends are just no good for me, I need a haircut," she
stated, brushing her hair into something fairly neat, noticing how her
bob cut had lost its sharpness. "I've been letting it go, recently.
Letting too many things go..."
       She heard steps echo in the street opposite her window. It was
only 5:30 am, who could be up at this time? Curious, she opened the
curtains slightly and glanced outside, past the garden. The streetlights
hollowed out the dark night with artificial illuminance so she viewed the
street with some clarity. A single person wandered down the road... tall;
short, black hair; mucky clothes and they were dragging a container of
some kind but Nabiki couldn't quite see their face. The person looked
over their shoulder and caught her eye... it-it was him!
       "Kuno..." she quietly breathed in surprise, watching as he watched
her for a moment, seeming to be surprised, too. He then continued to walk
on but with a pace in his step. Quickly regaining her composure, Nabiki
hurried down the stairs, put on her coat and shoes and rushed outside,
hoping to catch up with him before he disappeared. The cold air blasted
against her face as she stepped out, wishing that she'd put on her
gloves. But time couldn't be wasted. At least she had an idea where he
was heading: towards his old house. What was he thinking of doing?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *         
     
       Oh dear, he had been spotted by someone, by one who could stop
this. She could call the police or even worse, talk him out of it even
though he knew it was the best thing to do. No choices were left to him!
The plan had to be delayed 'til tonight, until she was gone. A detour was
necessary, away from the house. The pain will be endured for another day.
That girl! Why did she have to be up so early?!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

       Where did he go? She was sure that she'd seen him go down here! At
least she was nearing the house, if he was even there...
       Nabiki continued to pace towards where a proud home had once been,
but was now no more. Soon, it came into view, barely visible as no
streetlights were graced near it, the neighbours spooked into going away
from long holidays. Unable to deal with the tragedy, they had enough
money to escape, at least temporarily. 
       Not much seemed to be left of the house, demolished for safety,
soon to be completely cleared away. It felt... weird to see it like this
now. So quiet and so still. She stopped, just to gaze at it for a moment.
The house had been there since before she was born, a constant, like the
Kunos - who caused chaos ahead of Ranma's arrival. A family guaranteed to
give you a laugh with their exploits whether they meant to or not. But
now their constancy was no more, reminding all that nothing had a safe,
secure fate.
       'Fwap, fwap.'
       The gentle breeze, which brushed through the taped barricade
surrounding the ex-home, freed Nabiki from her thoughts. After going
under the safety tape, she ventured into the area, peering into the night
for the sight of Kuno. He was here... wasn't he? She ignored the chilly
air nipping and biting at any exposed skin. 
       "Kuno, it's only me here!" she called out to silence. Where was
that idiot?! The soft, mushy ground became harder and started to echo as
she moved across it. Echoed?
       'Crunch! Creeeeaak!'
       Oh no, she had to g-

* * * * * * * * * * * * *       
       
       A few hours passed and the sun began to rise to the sky, hidden by
the dark clouds, threatening to pour rain over Tokyo... Nerima was no
different...

       "Akane! Nabiki! Time to get up, breakfast time!" Kasumi cheerily
announced along the corridor.
        "I'm up, Kasumi, I'm just getting ready for school!" Akane
shouted back through to the hall and five minutes later appeared from her
room, dressed neatly. She glanced at Nabiki's bedroom door and then
trotted over to it.
        'Knock, knock, knock.'
        "C'mon, Nabiki, wake up." Akane knew that Nabiki wasn't a morning
person but she usually set an alarm or two to make sure. Nabiki's alarm
clocks were so loud that they woke up Akane before her own alarm did. She
frowned as she received no response from the other side of the door.
"Hey, sis, get up,  we've won the lottery...!" Nothing. "A billionaire
has asked for your hand in marriage...!" Nothing again. Just silence, how
odd. Cautiously, Akane opened Nabiki's door and peered inside: the
curtains were slightly open, school books were scattered on the desk, a
school satchel lay on the floor, the bed looked slept-in but there was no
sign of Nabiki anywhere. Kasumi must have got it wrong, Nabiki was
probably having a bath or something like that. Well, that made sense.
      Akane descended the stairs and made her way to the breakfast table
where Ranma and Mr. Saotome fought over fish-cake, her father smoked his
horrible tobacco and Kasumi ate quietly and gracefully.  She took her
normal seat beside Ranma and growled as she realised that all the fish
cakes had gone.
       "So is Nabiki coming for something to eat?" Kasumi asked her.
       "She's not in her bedroom, I think she's taking a bath." Akane
continued to eat what little food was left over, shooting a foul look at
Ranma, who was completely oblivious to it, or who seemed to be.
       "But I checked the bathroom before going upstairs," explained the
eldest sister. "Oh, yes, that's right! Nabiki did say she was going in
early but I hadn't realised it would be before breakfast that she went." 
        ...Without her school books and bag, though? Nabiki wasn't
disorganised like that. Akane couldn't think of any good reason for it...
it just wasn't like her sister...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
 	
      Nearly three-quarters of an hour later...
      Jiki rubbed his hands together, reprimanding himself for forgetting
his gloves on a freezing day like this and those rainclouds didn't look
as if they were going to help him, either. He leaned against the wall,
just inside the school, near the gates. For the twentieth time, the
teenager checked the school clock and his watch, they both said that
there were only a few minutes to the bell. 
       It was getting cold and he'd been waiting for nearly
half-an-hour... where was Nabiki? This weather was _not_ helping his
mood. Was this her punishment for his slip-up? Couldn't be... then what
was keeping her? This was not good.
       Ah ha! There was her younger sister coming through the gates. Now,
all he had to do was work up the courage to ask where Nabiki was. Oh no,
her marital artist fianc� was with her! Oh, he should've known.
       Then again, maybe this was a test by Nabiki to increase his
backbone. And... and... if he didn't go through with it, Nabiki might get
angry with him and he feared her more than Ranma Saotome... just. 
       Sucking his breath with trepidation, Jiki walked cautiously up to
Akane, who was having a small fight with Saotome. Oh boy. Tapping her
gently on the shoulder, Jiki let out his breath and spoke nervously,
"Akane Tendo? May I speak with you?" She stopped arguing and turned round
to meet him, looking quite surprised. No wonder, few of the schoolboys
ever seemed to address her politely or treat her normally. He would know
as he was in the same class as Akane and Saotome.
      "Yes?"
      "My name's Jiki. Do you know where your sister, Nabiki Tendo, is?"
he asked in the most confident manner he could and ended up sounding
almost normal.
       A brief flash of worry and anxiety passed over her face. "Why?
Haven't you seen her?" There was slight tinge of hope in her tone of
voice and Jiki could see it on her face.
       "I haven't." The subtle look of hope on Akane's face disappeared.
"I... was supposed to meet her here half-an-hour ago and she hasn't
turned up. I was just wondering if you knew..."
       "And did you turn up late for this meeting? She-she could have
gone inside, already."
       "I've been here an hour, Miss Tendo," Jiki answered Akane. "You
don't turn up late for a meeting with Nabiki, you just don't." 
       "Maybe she forgot school was starting..." Akane hoped.
       At this point, Ranma stepped in to the conversation. He was so
Jiki's opposite: confident, skilled and strong. Jiki took a step back,
unconsciously.
       "Nah..." Ranma added, "Not Nabiki. She told me that school was
startin' today... and took pleasure in telling me, too."
       "Are you sure that you didn't get it wrong?" Akane was clearly
getting more disturbed.             
        Jiki became anxious at Akane's worried tone; something must have
happened to Nabiki for Akane to be agitated like this. "No, on the phone
yesterday, she told me very clearly to meet her before school." 
       "Hey, don't worry about it, Akane," Ranma confidently told her.
"This is Nabiki we're talking about here. Nothing's happened to her, she
wouldn't let it and no-one would dare if they know what's good for 'em."
He was obviously trying to assure his fiancee, trying to ease her mind;
Jiki wished he had a friend like that. "We'll check for her at
lunch-time, right, Jiki?"
       "Y-yes, straight after class. I'm sure we'll find her," Jiki
asserted, but neither he nor Akane were quite as confident of it as Ranma
seemed to be.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
       
        "Uhhh... where the heck am I?" The place was drowning in darkness
and Nabiki couldn't see a thing, except slight shadows embracing
indistinguishable objects. The last thing she remembered... no, no the
memory was so fuzzy.... it involved falling, so much falling... Her
breath choked and coughed against the thick, dusty, clogged air of
wherever she was. Sharp pains stabbed her head sadistically as she
coughed, breathing in the dryness that stung her sore throat. "Have to
get out of here," her hoarse throat croaked pathetically and she was
ashamed at the sound.
       Lifting her head slowly from the rough, splintered floor to which
she'd fallen, her shaky hands cautiously levered her up. Still all she
saw were shadows - stupid, hazy shadows giving no depth or clues. Having
managed to balance on her hands, Nabiki decided to try and move her legs.
       "Aaaahhh!" Nabiki shrieked as the pain rocketed up a leg, forcing
her to collapse back onto the floor. She tried again to move the other
leg but any jerky movement snapped her body with spasms. Was her leg
broken? Her hands dragged her forward but with every bump in the floor,
her body cried at her to stop. Moving fast was obviously not an option at
this point. But she had to get rid of this headache, squeezing her head
tighter and tighter and tighter.... No! Nabiki hoped someone would find
her. She didn't like this at all... she didn't like feeling helpless and
alone and... afraid. 
       Sucking her breath in, Nabiki let it all out in a scream,
"Heyyyyy!! Anyone out there??! Anyone at all??! Please!" It was such a
weak scream, she grimaced, no-one would hear her; it would be better to
save her breath for when she heard someone come near. All this just to
find that stupid Kuno, she was beginning to wonder why she ever cared
what happened to that self-centred idiot. She sure didn't care anymore...
  

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

         Later as evening gave way to night and the stars pinned
themselves to the velvet sky...
        'Slam!'   
        "Oh, hello Ranma, how did the search go?" a gentle voice asked.
        The martial artist trod through to the main room where Kasumi was
sitting, talking to someone he didn't know. "Sorry Kasumi, no luck, I
looked all over the city." Boy, he was getting to know Tokyo pretty well,
_all_ of Tokyo. So this is how Ryoga felt...
        "Oh, right," Kasumi sighed sadly before re-applying her
unassuming smile. "Have a cup of tea to warm you up." Ranma sat down at
the low table, gulping the drink down in one second, noticing that the
female stranger was watching him closely, recognition of him dawning on
her face.
        "Hey," he grinned nervously, wondering why she was looking at him
like that.
        "Oh, my," Kasumi said. "I haven't introduced you two. Ranma...
this is a nice detective from the police: Detective Hasunari. She's here
to help us find Nabiki."
        "Oh really? But doesn't someone have to be gone for twenty-four
hours before you guys are called out?" Ranma enquired.
        "Nabiki's a special case and we take all disappearances in Nerima
seriously," answered Hasunari. "I think you know why; Nerima is... well,
Nerima."
       "Nabiki's a special case? Why?" Ranma thought about it and then
realisation came. "Oh, yeah... this _is_ Nabiki we're talking about.
Special connections and all, I bet."
        Hasunari ignored Ranma's loaded remarks and continued to speak,
"Ranma Saotome, could you tell me whether Nabiki Tendo was acting
strangely the last time you saw her."
       The teenager digested the question. "Nope, she seemed pretty
normal to me last night, considering..."
       "Considering what?"
       "Don't you know, didn't Kasumi tell you?"
       "I came only minutes before you, Ranma Saotome."
       "Well, considering what happened to the Kuno's, y'know; Nabiki was
acting a little strange after that."
       "Oh, yes, the Kuno's...!" Hasunari remarked with realisation.
Things were starting to connect in her mind: the Kuno boy had apparently
disappeared a few days ago and Nabiki had been making enquiries after
him. The detective took out her mobile phone and called the police
station. A lead had been found.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 
        
       Opening her eyes, Nabiki cursed herself, "How could I lose
consciousness again?!" The shadows had disappeared and now the room -
completely bathed in black - gave her little comfort. Sudden echoes
disrupted the eerie peace and Nabiki found her heart tightening in
response as instincts kicked in. Who... who was that? Could they help
her? Did she want them to? 
       'Tip-tmp, tip-tap.'       
       Remaining quiet, she listened as the echoes of the footsteps came
so near but remained so far. She reasoned that she was in a building of
some kind and there were rooms connected to it, corridors and passageways
going around it.  If she could only remember where she'd fallen from! 
      Along with the reverberating footsteps, there was the faint but
distinctive sound of liquid being sloshed and splashed erratically onto a
floor in the other room(s) but not in this one. 
      ~Creeaaak!~ Whoever it was entered the room but they were far from
where Nabiki lay. Neither one of them could see each other in the
sweeping blackness. Nabiki wondered whether she should call out to the
stranger - were they friend or foe? The stranger still was unaware of her
and seemed to be talking angrily to themself, something about 'running
out of...' of what? That was one familiar voice though, but they were
talking too quietly for her to place it. 
       Nabiki listened intently as the stranger started to walk away and
opened the creaking door. "No! Don't go, I need help!" she cried out at
the last minute, sacrificing her pride but her voice was still hoarse and
she could barely make out what she herself had said. Argh! She should've
done it while the stranger was still near her! It might have done some
good then! Maybe they would come back to finish whatever they'd started.
Hang on, there was a weird smell..? What was it? It smelt like... like
petrol?!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *     
      
       Tatewaki stood, with satisfaction barely hidden on his face, his
eyes vacant and wandering, in the remains of his house. He gazed down at
the underground stairs slightly covered by blackened pieces of wood and
wondered how the firemen could have missed it. Morbid memories came to
the surface as he realised that he was standing in what used to be the
hallway, at the end of it the underground stairway leaded to his secret
underground training facility - which had been renovated and expanded
just before the fire. Kodachi's bedroom, where she had died, was only a
few feet away and he could not bear to look at it, her scream already
gaining power in his mind.
       Flicking a match and standing a few feet away, he smiled as he
realised that by finishing what the fire had not, there would be nothing
to be ashamed of anymore. The past would soon be dead and his sister
would leave him alone. Maybe his mother was proud of him for his
ingenuity, sadly lacking a couple of weeks back, and had already forgiven
him for this? He remained certain that the blame would be lifted after
this.
      The lighted match was tossed down the stairwell. Tatewaki backed
farther away as the flame touched the petrol, turning into flame. Light,
so much light! Blazing, consuming all it crossed! Oh, how he was enjoying
watching the fire pick up the path of petrol he'd laid down. Soon, all of
the Kuno house would be ashes and dust and peace of mind would arrive. 
The past was finally being destroyed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

       Petrol?! Oh god, some crazed arsonist was going to set whatever
she was in on fire! That's what the sloshing was - liquid petroleum! What
was she going to do now? Urging her body to move upwards, Nabiki grumbled
as her body collapsed onto the floor. Several attempts made no
difference. No, this wasn't fair, she had to get out before... warm, it
was so warm all of a sudden. Too warm to be comforting, bathing her in a
gradual heat that she was afraid was coming from what her instincts were
telling her of.
       Raising her head, she saw light seeping through the side of a door
and something thick begin to crawl into the large room. It was grey to
her vision and it rose to the ceiling. Smoke! Damn, she was too late, the
fire was getting nearer. Too near. How was she going to get out??! The
acrid, bitter smell filled her stinging throat but she couldn't move.
Through fear? Through pain? She didn't really care. But what was she to
do? Crawl her way out or let the smoke k-ki... end all this. 
       As she stared with morbid horror at what was happening, Nabiki
realised that this was it, this was the end. Smoke filled the room more
and more. What did she have to show for all this? A life of... of... no!
She wouldn't let herself die like this. Helpless. Weak. 
       Pride long abandoned and mindless panic taking over, Nabiki didn't
care that she might never speak again thanks to this, and she was going
to scream however much it hurt. No weak, pathetic screams. Oh no.
"AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!!" Breathing in deeply, not
letting the stinging smoke dissuade her, she continued... "AAAAHHHH!!"
Soon, all sense of self was lost in the repeated screams, pure panic
driving her. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *  

       Walking away slowly as he stepped over the rubble, sure of his
rightness in this task, Tatewaki peered into the darkness and saw that
the smoke seemed to be rising from the ground, almost as if there was a
hole there. How puzzling. Wasn't the secret underground training facility
there, hidden by fake ground? Ah well, it was near the staircase so the
fire must be eating through the wooden ceiling.
        "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!" a scream erupted from nowhere, startling
 Tatewaki. A female scream, so helpless, so familiar, so near.  Just like
Kodachi's. Oh, god, the screams must be in his mind, taunting him over
and over. It was too real. He gripped his hands over his head, shaking
his head madly. His heart felt as if it was being ripped apart by the
shrieks of desperation.
        "Leave me alone, oh, just leave me alone!" he cried to no-one. "I
do not need this!" He started to cry real tears, tears of grief as the
memories of that night slammed into him, stabbing at him and reminding
him in morbid detail of his family's last stand.
       "SOMEONE HELP ME!!!" the scream tore through his melancholic
madness, as real as the rubble he was standing. Oh no, that... that
sounded real... that sounded familiar but it was not Kodachi. No no no no
no no no!! "AAAAHHHH!!"
       Instinct pounced onto him and, heart pounding, he streaked over to
the where the hole was. Wisps of smoke interfered with his vision but
beside the hole lay a purse... It-it was... no! Not her! Not her!! 
       Breath shallow and heart hitting his ribcage, Tatewaki dived into
the smoky hole. He landed beside Nabiki, there were no more screams from
her, just silence. No, gods, no! Choking on the fumes, he carefully
picked her up into his arms. He was barely able to walk as the smoke was
suffocating. Had to get out. For her sake. There was little vision left
in the large hall. Where was the ramp to the dojo, to the exit? Have to
find it...
       Struggling to keep breathing, he ran up what he hoped was the ramp
to the dojo which had mysteriously not been harmed by either fires. He
nearly tripped over his wobbling legs - his body desperate for oxygen -
but managed to keep upright, gritting his teeth in determination.
Staggering through the small room, smoke slowly seeping through behind
him, he shot over to where he knew a window was. He had to save her. She
couldn't die! She couldn't!
       'Smash! Tinkle...'
       He hurtled his fist through the glass. Pain, so much pain! The
glass was smashed repeatedly to make a hole big enough for two. Tatewaki
threw himself through the window, holding Nabiki close as he took the
impact of the landing. Splintered wood and pieces of glass lay on the
ground. His back was stabbed by the litter. Arrrrgghhh!!! Have to get far
away from here, so much smoke! Run far; keep Nabiki safe. How could he
have been so stupid?! Endangering others for his own gain. Idiot!
      The teenager lingered on the street just a few feet from the
wreckage, clutching her tightly. The smoke from the fire was getting to
the boy and his eyes swirled with anger and determination, fighting off
eternal sleep. He kneeled down and looked at Nabiki's pale face, unmoving
in the night light.
      She reminded him too much of his late sister in hospital. Were the
stabs at his heart from the fire or from this? Oh no, he did not want
Nabiki to go the same way! No!! "Nabiki this is my fault, I am so sorry!
This should not have happened, no!!" he cried to her but there was no
response. "Can you hear me? Can you hear me?! Please wake up! I... I..." 
 
       Her eyes flickered weakly open and he smiled hopefully as she
locked eyes with him, her expression unreadable. "Kuno, I... sleepy, need
sleep..." Before he could say anything, her eyes cruelly shut and her
body went limp.
       "NO, wake up!! Don't do this to me!!" he screamed, guilt heavy in
his heart, then he stopped screaming and gazed down at her with
melancholy, "I can hear the fire-engines and ambulance coming near...
Please hold on 'till then." The screams of these vehicles rushed closer
and closer. The glare of their headlights illuminated figures rushing
towards him...a pigtail bobbed back and forth on one of these figures.
Saotome, of course! "I have to, Nabiki but you're in good hands. I have
to go..." Gently placing her down on the pavement, Tatewaki took one last
look at her before standing up. As he ran away from the oncoming noise,
hie heart became heavier with guilt and regret.  He'd been so stupid and
crazy to do such a thing as arson, how could he do such a criminal act,
how??! 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
End of chapter 6...
Wow, I think that's the fastest I've done a chapter - only took me two
week to write. The speed at which I managed to write it worries me
though, so if there's anything about this chapter which bothers you,
please tell me! In other words... me want C&C pretty please!! ^_^
NB: Does anyone know if there any mailing lists for any of the Kuno's or
any maps of their house on the net? Thank you for reading this far! Ja
ne!